Method and apparatus for flexibly supporting services in wireless communication system

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a communication technique for combining, with IoT technology, a 5 th generation (5G) communication system or a pre-5G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate after a 4 th generation (4G) system such as long-term evolution (LTE), and to a system therefor. The disclosure may be applied to intelligent services (e.g., a smart home, a smart building, a smart city, a smart car or connected car, healthcare, digital education, retail business, security and safety-related service, etc.), based on a 5G communication technology and an IoT-related technology. Various embodiments may provide a method for managing context of a terminal in a mobile communication system.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method performed by an access and mobility management function (AMF) in a communication system, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a first session management function (SMF), a first message including information indicating that a transfer of a session management (SM) context to a second SMF is requested; 
 transmitting, to the second SMF, a second message for requesting the second SMF to receive the SM context from the first SMF; 
 starting a timer upon transmitting the second message; 
 receiving, from the second SMF, a third message as a response to the second message before expiration of the timer; 
 receiving, from another AMF, a user equipment (UE) context transfer request due to a terminal mobility, before receiving the third message; and 
 delaying a processing of the UE context transfer request until receiving the third message. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining that an SM context transfer procedure has failed in case that the timer expires before receiving the third message. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the third message indicates that a context creation process is completed. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a service request from a terminal for a protocol data unit (PDU) session associated with the SM context, before receiving the third message; and 
 delaying a processing of the service request with the second SMF until receiving the third message. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first message comprises a Nsmf_PDUSession_SMContextStatusNotify message, the second message comprises a Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext request message, and the third message comprises a Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext response message. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting of the second message further comprises:
 selecting the second SMF based on the first message. 
 
     
     
       7. An access and mobility management function (AMF) in a communication system, the AMF comprising:
 a transceiver; and 
 a controller coupled with the transceiver and configured to: 
 receive, from a first session management function (SMF), a first message including information indicating that a transfer of a session management (SM) context to a second SMF; 
 transmit, to the second SMF, a second message for requesting the second SMF to receive the SM context from the first SMF; 
 start a timer upon transmitting the second message; 
 receive, from the second SMF, a third message as a response to the second message before expiration of the timer; 
 receive, from another AMF, a user equipment (UE) context transfer request due to a terminal mobility, before receiving the third message; and 
 delay a processing of the UE context transfer request with the second SMF until receiving the third message. 
 
     
     
       8. The AMF of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 determine that an SM context transfer procedure has failed in case that the timer expires before receiving the third message. 
 
     
     
       9. The AMF of  claim 7 , wherein the third message indicates that a context creation process is completed. 
     
     
       10. The AMF of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 receive a service request from a terminal for a protocol data unit (PDU) session associated with the SM context, before receiving the third message; and 
 delay a processing of the service request with the second SMF until receiving the third message. 
 
     
     
       11. The AMF of  claim 7 , wherein the first message comprises a Nsmf_PDUSession_SMContextStatusNotify message, the second message comprises a Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext request message, and the third message comprises a Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext response message. 
     
     
       12. The AMF of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 select the second SMF based on the first message.